Attorneys for the local chapter hailed the jury's decision.
"We expect to get an injunction from the court," said attorney Jason P. Gosselin. "We've asked for a permanent injunction from trying to evict the Scouts because of the city's opposition to the leadership policy."
That means that Cradle likely will maintain its cheap lease.
Gosselin said Cradle would also be seeking a court order to compel the city to pay at least $800,000 in legal fees and expenses to Cradle.
Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, said in an e-mail that the city was "disappointed that the jury did not appreciate the city's obligation to deploy municipal resources in a manner that protects the rights of all of Philadelphia's citizens."
Oliver said city lawyers would review the trial record to determine what legal options it has.
Cradle officials say they hope that the city doesn't pursue an appeal.
"What we really want is for this to be over with," Gosselin said. "What we would like to happen is to now sit down with the city and talk about a reasonable way we can put this behind us." He added that in its future dealings with the city, Cradle would be "negotiating from a position of strength."
One juror, a truck driver from Rheinhold, Lancaster County, said the jury "went back and forth" but tried to be "fair" in its deliberations. Merrill Arbogast, 40, a former Eagle Scout, said he was sensitive to the city's position that the national Scouts' policy banning gays is wrong.
"We do hope that eventually [Boy Scouts of America] will change their mind," he said, adding that the jury "does not fault the city."
Arbogast said that when he was a Scout, the issue of one's sexual orientation "never came up."
